The Wallace Collection in London’s West End is planning an exhibition that will tell the story of the skilled artistry of swords in the Renaissance period.
Centuries ago, warrior knights used their swords as weapons and symbols of their elite class. In the 16th-century Renaissance, civilian swords also became works of art.
The Noble Art of the Sword: Fashion and Fencing in Renaissance Europe will feature weapons and other works of art from the Wallace Collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Armouries and private UK collections. The displays will show how the weapons became also fashion items representing the rise of a new upwardly-mobile middle class.
The show will also look at 16th-century concepts of masculinity and the emergence of the duel of honour. A man of means in the 16th century never went anywhere without his sword, and was always prepared to use it. A beautiful sword was the Rolex of its day and a statement of its owner’s status and power.
Sword workshops in the Renaissance period also created buckles, buttons, and all the mounts and fittings needed to integrate the sword with the whole gentlemanly costume. The rapier of Elector Christian II of Saxony (1583-1611) will be displayed for the first time alongside its matching doublet and breeches, cut from the finest Italian silk.
The Wallace Collection is a national museum in a historic London town house just behind Selfridges department store. It contains one of the world’s finest collections of Old Master paintings, including the famous Laughing Cavalier by Franz Hals, as well as furniture, sculpture, galleries of princely arms and armour, and important displays of gold boxes and miniatures.
In March three newly-refurbished Dutch galleries will open in the East Wing, with new roof-lights offering a clear view of the sky and allowing natural light in the galleries. Each gallery will have a clearly defined theme. One will present works by Rembrandt and his workshop, and early contemporaries. The other galleries will show genre and landscape painting of the Dutch Golden Age and work by Dutch artists in Italy.
The Wallace Collection is open daily 10am–5pm, admission free. The Noble Art of the Sword: Fashion and Fencing in Renaissance Europe will be on display from 17 May to 16 September.
The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
Tel: + 44 20 7563 9500
Website: www.wallacecollection.org
Facebook: The Wallace Collection
Twitter: @WallaceMuseum
YouTube: The Wallace Collection
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.